The invention relates to a curved element for use in the support structures of the wings and control surfaces of an aircraft. The invention further relates to a wing, a control surface and a stabilizer for an aircraft. The object of the invention is disclosed more closely in the preambles of the independent claims.
The wing of aircrafts, such as airplanes and the like, comprises skin plates, between which the actual support structure of the wing is arranged and typically comprises a front spar and a rear spar in the longitudinal direction of the wing and wing ribs connecting them in the transverse direction of the wing. Usually a plurality of stringers is further provided between the wing ribs and the skin plates. The structure of the stabilizers and the control surfaces, such as spoilers, landing flanges, rudders etc., for example, is typically similar to that of the wing and comprises curved elements corresponding to the wing ribs.
Instead of conventional components manufactured from metal parts by riveting, structural parts manufactured from a composite material are increasingly used in modern aircrafts. The weight of the structures can be lowered by the use of composite materials. In known composite solutions, a plurality of adjacent reinforcement pieces are fastened to the vertical skin plates of the wing rib by gluing or, alternatively, by fastening them with mechanical fastening elements, such as rivets or screws. However, the assembly of such curved elements from a plurality of separate components is slow. Furthermore, discontinuities exist between the separate parts, which is undesirable from the point of view of the strength theory.